“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” – Henry David Thoreau

The Energy Department said a white roof can knock 10% to 20% off a building’s electric bill. To that end, it is encouraging anyone replacing or building a roof to take advantage of substantial tax credits and promoting “cool roofs,” which don’t have to be white and could include silver reflective paint or even rooftop gardens. (more…)

Norway’s Doomsday Seed Vault Hits 1/2 Million Mark

In November 2008, Forced Green posted an article on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The “Doomsday Seed Vault” lies 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the North Pole, in Norway’s remote Svalbard archipelago, quite literally an Arctic island. The vault complex is designed to withstand global warming, earthquakes and even nuclear strikes. A safeguard against wars or natural disasters wiping out food crops around the globe. A master backup to the world’s other 1,400 seed banks, in case their deposits are lost. A wise move especially in the face of such events as the war wiping out seed banks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another bank in the Philippines was flooded in the wake of a typhoon in 2006.

Days after celebrating its second anniversary, the trust that oversees the seed collection announced on Thursday (March 11), the vault now houses half a million seed samples, making it the world’s most diverse repository of crop seeds. Since it opened for “deposits” two years ago the facility amassed at least one-third of the world’s crop seeds. Since it opened for “deposits” two years ago the facility amassed at least one-third of the world’s crop seeds (more…)

For California Homes, Clean Power From Space

In early December 2009, California Public Utilities Commission approved an ambitious project to beam solar energy from space to generate electricity starting in June 2016.

Under the terms of the contract between Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Solaren Corporation, PG&E will buy 850 gigawatt hours (GWh) for the first year of the term, and 1,700 GWh per year over the remaining years. The cost of the electricity is competitive with land-based renewable energy sources. (more…)

Sometimes Humor is worth a thousand words

The spoken word is such a barrier at times… no matter what language you speak.

So please watch this video for interesting clarification of my last post. And I promise to get off of the numbers for a little while.

BTW, we are going to rate this a PG-13 !

… as the green world turns!